The Stroggos Chronicles - Q2 expansion idea

[EmeraldTiger]

In the effort of learning C++ (as well as Japanese... fufu) I decided that a good way to learn would to be adapt onto one of my favorite games. Problem is that I possess only a very basic knowledge of C++. I`ve written simple programs for lessons (such as a function to multiply by 3.14 to find circumferences) but the Quake 2 code is littered with bad coding practices and legacy crap, not to mention that it`s easy as heck to get compiling errors if you mess up even one little thing. But I`m not doing this alone - if possible I`d like to recieve some help, perhaps we can chat in #tastyspleen irc and discuss how to get things working, etc. Note that procrastination is my worst enemy and it could be an on-off project.

The idea of Chronicles would be similar to Quoth for Quake 1. It would not neccessarily be a mission pack with full units and maps but rather just a toolset for mappers to create their own experiences. I already have some ideas and may expand / change / remove some things along the way. Here`s what I had in mind:

NEW WEAPONS

Perforator
Based off Painkiller`s stake gun, the Perforator ejects a medium-sized, metallic projectile. While not particularly powerful (it only does little more damage than the SG) it is capable of pinning down enemies and exerting a large amount of knockback. Fun in maps with lots of lava or slime. Uses new ammo type. (spears)

Scatter Gun
Based off Unreal Tournament`s flak cannon, the Scatter Gun launches twelve pellets of highly energized particles. They ricochet once off surfaces (xatrix ionripper), then afterwards they bounce like a grenade being affected by gravity. To make it more unique, however, the scatter gun is chargable - the longer you hold onto the fire button, the faster the cells are fired and the more momentum they have (bounce higher). Uses cells.

Stinger Cannon
Based off the Gloom (popular q2 mod) weapon. Fires a barrage of missles which spiral out and pursue multiple targets. Great for clearing crowds. Uses new ammo type. (missles)

NEW AMMO TYPES FOR EXISTING WEAPONS

Explosive Bullets
Bullets fortified with magnesium, allowing them to detonate and create explosions.

Explosive Shells
Shells fortified with magnesium, allowing them to detonate and create explosions.

Guided Rockets
Use your crosshairs to guide these nifty doo-dads to their desired destinations... or better yet targets.

Napalm Grenades
Sticks to floors and continues to burn for 15 seconds. If someone gets too close they suffer damage for a short while even after walking away.

Purple Cells
Obviously purple. They rip straight through enemies rather than terminating as they hit, as well as inflicting a very small splash-damage radius, making it more friendly to the accuracy-challenged. If used in BFG10K, double the damage.

NEW ENEMIES

Cobra
Snake-like Strogg creation, it compensates for it`s slow speed by hacking up napalm grenades, which become a nuisance if the room is filled with them. Uses a medic-like hyperblaster for long distances.

Beta-Class Enforcer
Quake 2 enforcer variant with increased health, a power screen, and a stinger cannon in place of the chaingun.

Beta-Class Gunner
Quake 2 gunner variant with increased health, explosive bullet machinegun, and a perforator in place of the grenade launcher.

Beta-Class Parasite
Quake 2 parasite variant with increased health, and a much longer range for it`s tentacle attack. When it attacks, it gains whatever health you lost, up to a limit of 1000, so take them out quickly, marine.

Explosive Guard
Quake 2 guard variant with an explosive shell shotgun.

Grenade Guard
Quake 2 guard variant which fires grenades.

Scatter Guard
Quake 2 guard variant with a scatter gun.

Punisher
Brand-new Strogg creation which uses a swinging blade for melee combat, a purple hyperblaster mounted atop of that arm and on the other, a guided rocket launcher. (from enemy pov, it`s actually homing)

NEW ITEMS / POWER-UPS

BrainHack
Can be used three times before using up it`s reserved energy supply. Fires a harmless laser beam which scrambles the hardwired intelligience chips nested in the brains of the Strogg, which will cause them to fight for you. (Think of Scourge`s Horn of Conjuring, but using existing enemies)

Conservation
Prevents you from using up ammo when firing weapons.

I will definitely expand upon these ideas soon, for right now though what do you think of the concept? Great or hate?

[QwazyWabbit]

You're right about Quake2 code being full of bad practices but it's not C++, it's C. Modding Q2 is not a good choice for learning C++. Most of your weapon ideas have been done before in WOD, LOX, WODX, BotS and LMCTF in more ways than one. I like the idea of more/smarter Stroggs so I would love to see you develop those ideas more. If C++ is your mode then you should look into Paril & Company's CleanCode effort. It's a re-factored Q2 mod in C++ but it's not written in a portable C++ and won't compile on Linux systems which is the majority of online servers and IMHO the only proper way to host Q2. If you want to learn C++ I suggest joining the CleanCode effort and writing it to ISO standard C++ and eradicating the Microsoft-isms from that code base. THEN you will have a C++ mod on which to base your ideas.

[EmeraldTiger]

I have heard about CleanCode - I will give it a look and try it out. (and hopefully learn how to make it more Linux-friendly)

When I load the .sln file it says the app does not support .vbproj... should I be concerned about this?

[QwazyWabbit]

The solution is a combined set of projects, game and zlib are in C/C++ and AutoUpdater and ClassCreator are in VB. If you don't have VB installed as part of your Visual Studio installation then it can be a problem. If you don't care about those parts of the project you can remove them from the solution. There are other issues, like copying the DLL to drive E:, a whole bunch of ../../ directory traversals for the other projects, etc. that I had to deal with also. These are always issues with inheriting complex projects.

[EmeraldTiger]

I managed to get in contact with Paril. The mod is officially using CleanCode now, so now I can actually use what I (hopefully) learn in C++ for the mod. Trying to work on the Conservation power-up first. I got the definitions down so the item is recognized by the game and can be given through the console. The part that I`m stuck on is figuring out how to actually make it so that you don`t use up ammo when you fire weapons, while you have the power-up. The timer also does not function.

Which file in CleanCode specifically controls the gameplay-related effects of power-ups? I know powerups.cpp and powerups.h give the definitions to have the game know of their existence, but I need to know how to make it function as well. Any help on this would be appreciated, thanks in advance. And thanks to Paril for helping me out with things so far.

[quadz]

The part that I`m stuck on is figuring out how to actually make it so that you don`t use up ammo when you fire weapons, while you have the power-up.

Searching for DF_INFINITE_AMMO should reveal how to prevent ammo from being used.

Searching for invincible_framenum should show how the invulnerability powerup is handled.

(Assuming these names haven't changed in CleanCode, dunno.)


Regards,

quadz

[EmeraldTiger]

Testing ichi ni san...

Code: [Select]

// check for conservation
#if ROGUE_FEATURES
if ((ConservationFramenum > Level.Frame) && !(DamageFlags & DF_INFINITE_AMMO))
{
if (PainDebounceTime < Level.Frame)
{
Entity->PlaySound (CHAN_ITEM, SoundIndex("items/protect4.wav"));
PainDebounceTime = Level.Frame + 20;
}
take = 0;
save = ITEMFLAG_AMMO;
}
#endif